Improved means for protecting the bottoms of ships



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICEo OOWPER PHIPPS GOLES, OF VENTNOR, ENGLAND.

IMPROVED MEANS FOR PROTECTING THE .BOTTOMS OF SHIPS.

Specification forming part or" Letters Patent No. 53,756, dated April 3, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Gowrnr. Pnrrrs GoLEs,` of Ventnor, England, captain in the British Navy, have invented Improvements in Protectin g the Bottoms and Sides ot' roeden and Iron Ships and other Submerged Structures; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

My invention consists in means of attixing to the bottoms and such portions ot' the sides as are liable to be submerged of iron and wooden ships, caissons, and like structures cements, niortars, stuccos, and concretos, or other like substances. ln wooden ships and structures l iirst drive nails, brads, tacks, eyes, spikes, or other like holding agents into such portions ot' the structure as are to be protected at about one inch apart, more or less, and 'navingabouthalt'aninchprotruding. rlhe holding agents can be driven in at an incline, or they may be more or less bent ai'ter having been driven in. rilhe cement or other substance or composition is applied at'ter the holding agents have been inserted.y

lVith iron ships and structures l tirst apply a light sheathing ot' wood to receive the nails or other holding agents, and I then apply the cement or other like protecting substance or composition, or l sometimes cause studs or roughenings to be rolled or formed on theplating for iron ships and other iron structures, and use these studs or ronghenings as thc agents for holding the protecting substance or composition, or l on a thin metal plate by means of screws tapped into the ships sides or bottom proper. This plate, before be ing put on, has iiaps out in it about half an inch square and about one inch or one inch and a halt' apart. After the plate is on Iturn these tlaps up at an angle of about forty-tive degrees. rlhese iiaps or portions ot' the plate so turned up take the place of studs or nails for holdin gon the cement or other protecting substances; or I tix on wooden or iron structures, by screws or otherwise, wire-netting or a thin perforated metal plate, or cocoanut matting, canvas, or any other suitable matting or cloth; or thin laths or battons may be fastened to the ship or other structure as holding' agents for the cement which is atterward applied thereon.

In order that my invention may be fully understood, l have represented in the accompanying drawings one ot the modes in which l have applied it to practical use. rlShis drawing represents a fragment of the bottom of an iron vessel partially coated with cement, Figure 1 being a face view of it, and Fig. 2 being a transverse section ot it.

The iron plate A, ot' which the bottom is formed, is covered, wherever the cement is to be axed, with a wire-netting, B, which is secured to the iron plate by means of screws C and washers D, which overlap the wires of the netting. These screws and washers are set sutliciently close to each other to hold the cement securely-say about six or eight inches apart, more or less. llhe netting is not drawn closely to the surface ot' theiron plate,

hence there is space between the plate andthe netting for the cement to work into and unite behind the latter. The cement, which in this example is supposed to be the article commonly known as Portland cement or hydraulic cement,77 is applied in the same manner as plaster is applied to the wall or ceiling ot' a house. It surrounds the wirenetting and the screw-heads, which are thus embedded in the cement, and it is held securely to the iron plate by the operation ot the wirenetting and screws, which in this example constitute the holding agents.

Having thus described the several modes in which I have contemplated the application ot' the principle or characteristic ot' my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the exterior portions ot' structures that are liable to be submerged with cement by means ot' holding agents, the whole being combined and operating substantially as set forth.

COWPER l?. GOLES.

Vitnesses I. W. BUEGOYNE, FEED. W. HERBERT. 

